


Inch

by JackNoahKerr



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-31
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-13 05:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2138769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackNoahKerr/pseuds/JackNoahKerr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"They told me that there was a ganguro hobo hanging around the park the last couple of days."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inch

"Aominecchi."

"Hm?"

"Uh, what's this?" The blond stared at the pink letter with a heart-shaped seal the other male had just given him. "Uh, I mean I know what this is, but...?"

"Open it."

He did as his friend suggested. After quickly scanning the loopy handwriting on the paper, Kise froze. "Isn't Yamada-san _your_ girlfriend?"

The calmness in those navy eyes seemed foreign. "Not anymore," he said after chugging down the rest of his drink.

\---

He was more sober than he had ever been in his life, yet strangely, in this lucidity, it was difficult to recall the sequence of events of the last twenty-four hours. All details were lost. Convenient, because yesterday was the last thing he wanted to think about.

Aomine took the three o’clock bus to the park. Not the one he usually went to, but the one in Kanagawa. He only found out after he had arrived that there was no basketball court in this park. Finding an unoccupied bench, the tanned boy lay down with one arm hang free as he close his eyes and felt the rough leather of the basketball press against his fingertips.

He stayed in that position until the sun went down, then woke and took the bus home.

\---

He thought it should have taken longer to accept the truth for himself. After all, his girlfriend had fallen for one of his closest friends. It was laughable, like something out of a shitty chick flick. Aomine knew he had every right to be angry at the world. He wanted to exercise that right, but it was difficult to stay angry when there was no target to direct that anger to.

"She said she can't help herself, that when she's with me, all she can think about is _you_."

He could feel those honey orbs searching his face carefully. "You're not angry with me?"

"It's not your fault."

\---

Being in Kanagawa was both liberating and suffocating at the same time.

It was his fourth visit this week. The power forward wasn’t sure why he kept coming back. It certainly wasn’t to play basketball, that much was clear. The dark-skinned boy muttered something intelligible and swept a cigarette butt off the sidewalk with his foot.

He was alone. Silence gave him space to think. He thought about Kise, who was a mile wide and an inch deep, and he thought about how it was possible to drown in only an inch of water.

Epiphany was in realizing that the fool who drowned was none other than himself.

\---

They walked side by side in silence as they headed toward the restaurant.

Kise scowled lightly. "I can't believe she dumped you. You're Aominecchi. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

Aomine shrugged. After the girl's confession, all he could feel was a deathly peace. Maybe some part of him knew from the beginning that it wasn't going to work out. Or maybe... "The thing that pissed me off the most, was that I knew _exactly_ how she felt."

Noticing that the blond had suddenly stopped walking, Aomine paused and turned around. The other teen's face was downcast, lips pursed and fists clenched. "Hey Aominecchi, that means what I think it means, right?" He asked, his voice unusually raw and raspy.

Aomine swallowed, suddenly conscious of the accelerating beat inside his chest, and his palms became sweaty despite the cool autumn breeze running against the back of his hands. "I don't know. Depends."

Neither of them moved a muscle.

After what felt like forever, Kise's shoulders relaxed. He glanced up and smiled. "Sorry, it's just kind of hard to imagine Aominecchi in a relationship with anyone."

"What are you trying to say?" A vein popped on the taller teen's forehead as he slammed his fist down on the other's shoulder.

"Oww!"

\---

The blond’s earnest yet hesitant expression annoyed him. He watched as the model tilted his head innocently and rested his chin in his palm, middle finger teasing the piercing attached to his left earlobe. The silver ring glimmered under the fluorescent lamp, illuminating the blond’s pale complexion. All he could think of was how much he preferred the resplendent hues of the other’s hair during sunset to its bleached shades under artificial light.

"They told me that there was a ganguro hobo hanging around the park the last couple of days."

"Huh." He turned away to stare out the window. The urban scenery was overlaid with the reflection of Kise's shimmering contour, and the warm smell of coffee made his nostrils flare.

"So what are you doing in Kanagawa, Aominecchi? You should have told me that you were coming."

"Didn't wanna," he replied as he scratched his stomach, vaguely annoyed at the question. There was no way in hell he could say,  _because I wanted to be close to you_.

Kise sighed. "It's because of Yamada-san, isn't it? Don't worry, I rejected her politely. She's fine."

"That's good to know." This conversation was not what he signed up for. Aomine tsked and stood up. "I'm going home."

"Eh? You're leaving already? But we just got here!" Kise protested. "Are you going to come here tomorrow too? I want to play basketball with Aominecchi!"

For a second, it almost felt like they were back in middle school again. He could see it in his mind, Kise in that white and baby blue Teikou uniform, clinging, begging for one more play. He found some gratification in the knowledge that there was a certain perpetuity in their basketball, but somehow, it wasn't enough. Aomine used to think that basketball was all that he wanted, but now he realized he wanted much, much more.

Pausing by the exit, the blue-haired teen turned around and smirked. "Nah, I'm done here. Come to Tokyo if you wanna play me, loser."

**Author's Note:**

> Fic trade with Victoria. Story inspired by a conversation with a friend and a favorite novel. Happy birthday Aomine.


End file.
